Twitter and Facebook just censored a news
story by one of America’s largest papers. After the New
York Post published an investigation of corruption allegations,
the tech giants suppressed the story, and Twitter blocked its users from sharing the link.
Twitter even locked the New
York Post’s account, as well as the accounts of many prominent
conservatives and the White House press secretary.
This incident is tech censorship, plain and simple. A reputable outlet
published a story that is in the public interest, only to be banned from
spreading the word. Keep in mind: These are the same social media platforms
that Russia, China, and Iran use to spread propaganda and disinformation.
But instead of tackling that problem, Twitter and Facebook went after a
mainstream American media outlet that’s been around since 1801.
Twitter has apologized for how it handled the
situation, and yesterday said that it had changed its policies. Reminder: tech
companies have special protections under the law and the ability to block
content as long as
they apply rules evenly. It's clear that's not the case — which
is why the Senate is right to investigate this fiasco.
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